Slater-Price saluted as supervisor reign nears end

As she ends a two-decade tenure on the county Board of Supervisors, Pam Slater-Price was acclaimed Tuesday for her dedication to environmental and transportation issues and efforts to stem domestic violence and protect animals.

Slater-Price appeared moved by the praise from fellow supervisors for those and other accomplishments. She said serving on the board has been “a great adventure” in remarks delivered shortly before hundreds of county workers and elected officials gathered for luncheon on her honor.

But she also used the occasion to fire back at critics of her practice of awarding millions in taxpayer dollars to opera, theater and other arts groups.

“I could care less,” said Slater-Price, who was fined for not reporting free tickets she accepted from some of the groups. “I didn’t worry about what newspaper editors said because they’re not elected to do anything.”

She said she first ran for elective office from her former home in Encinitas after she couldn’t get officials to return her calls about issues of concern. She moved from the Encinitas City Council to county government in 1992.

“When I got elected, I would not have believed I would be here for 20 years,” she said. “I’m ready for something new.”

Supervisor Ron Roberts, board chairman, lauded her work on water quality and child obesity issues before presenting the Del Mar resident with a proclamation recognizing her contributions.

“San Diego County is much better off because of your services,” he said.

Supervisor Dianne Jacob pointed out that Slater-Price’s election and her own in the early ‘90s brought two women to the board for the first time.

“We broke the mold,” Jacob said, adding that the new dynamic the pair brought wasn’t an easy adjustment for the men on the panel.

The year was 1992, and in political circles it became known as the Year of the Woman because of the election of four female U.S. Senators, including California’s Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. In San Diego County, Slater-Price and Jacob won at the polls and Susan Golding vaulted from the board of supervisors and got elected mayor of San Diego.

Supervisors also defended her arts awards from the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program that gives each board member $1 million a year to distribute to nonprofit groups and programs and education entities.

While many of those grants were given to opera and theater organizations in San Diego, she also gave money to North County arts groups and included tickets for students, which Supervisor Bill Horn said he particularly appreciated.

The only certainty after leaving office at year’s end, she said, is serving in a volunteer capacity on the San Diego Theatre’s board of directors.

A Republican, Slater-Price gives way to Solana Beach Democrat Dave Roberts. He defeated the GOP’s Steve Danon to become the first Democrat on the panel since Leon Williams tenure ended in the mid-1990s. He takes over when she officially leaves office in January.

She called her successor a “progressive and independent leader,” but jokingly warned that if he strays from her expectations, she’ll appear at public meetings to point out his missteps.

As for the nearly $315,000 leftover in her campaign account, Slater-Price intends to give that money to a nonprofit group yet to be decided upon. The law requires that Slater-Price received no material benefit from the contribution.